Much Better!
Reviewer: Justine
from Santa Barbara, CA
After my initial review several months ago, where I described leaving after waiting a long while without so much as being greeted, I ended up trying California Crisp again. While out with some friends and looking for a quick and economical dinner, we stopped in on a whim. It was a 180 degree change! The service from the gentleman behind the counter was friendly and helpful, and the food was quite tasty and well-priced. I will definitely be back!

Good food, decent prices
Reviewer: Mallika
from Santa Barbara, CA
I ordered the Margherita pizza - it was quite good. It was just $6.00, so I paid in cash to help them maintain the low price (by avoiding visa/mastercard fees).
I also felt that my feedback was well received - when I expressed that I didn't like getting plastic cups for water, the proprieter said they'd look into it (they actually have non-single-use glasses for eating in, but they'd mistaken my order for a take-out initially).
The take-away boxes weren't plastic, but I was happy enough with some foil for my left-over pizza, didn't need their 12 cent box.

Good food Priced for a tight budget
Reviewer: Sylvie
from Santa Barbara, CA
I dropped in during the SBIFF for a quick bite. What a surprise! My wrap was fresh, delicious and brought to my table in timely manner. I'll definitely visit again

first in five months
Reviewer: Chris C
from Santa Barbara, CA
We tried a Caesar chicken wrap, a salad and soup with high hopes. The ingredients of the salad and wrap were fresh and, indeed, crisp. The dressing was of the creamy mayo-style - not much to it. The wrap was mostly lettuce with sparse chicken and even less flavor despite a decent Parmesan. If you want to stay far away from spice, this is the perfect dish. Likewise for the soup which was under-seasoned and flat. A Caesar salad ordered as gluten-free without croutons came with a liberal dusting of croutons plus a cheese-roll plunked on top. The attentive manager(?) asked how things we were and we responded that it was disappointing and short on flavor. The house reply was 'too bad, nobody else has said that in 5 months of operation.' OK, so chalk one up. The service that had seemed friendly turned out to be only a veneer with little regard for real customer satisfaction or interest in feedback. Unlikely to return.

Thank You
Reviewer: Brooke
from Santa Barbara, CA
Finally, affordable, yummy food in Santa Barbara. Soup/sandwich for 8.50 with prime ingredients. I will be going back.

great place!
Reviewer: Nicole
from Santa Barbara, CA
I went to this place today for a quick bite with some very picky eaters, and we were able to find something for everyone on the menu. The food was great, and the staff was friendly. My only complaint was that it took a bit longer than expected to get our food, but luckily we weren't in a hurry. I will be back!

Affordable, plentiful, delicious!
Reviewer: Lindsey
from Santa Barbara, CA
Ate lunch here yesterday and was more than pleased with the experience. I ordered the Thai Chicken Pizza and it was HUGE for $7, also very fresh and not skimpy on the ingredients. Could have easily been split between two. My friend ordered the Sweet Sensation Salad - it looked great although she wasn't a fan of the dressing. We split a piece of lemon cheese cake and it was very tasty. This place seems like a great deal for the money. Not as expensive as Silvergreens, and perhaps better quality food. The manager (?) was also very helpful and obviously cares about the experience of his patrons. I will definitely go back!

Cheap, tasty food, great service
Reviewer: Miles
from Santa Barbara, CA
Kind of an odd mix because the food is somewhat fancy and inexpensive but the restaurant itself is very informal (you order at the register and then pick a table). A great place to take a casual 1st date!

loved the food, even if not what ordered
Reviewer: Steve
from Santa Barbara, CA
This is a great change from Fatburger. I realize that it takes a while to work out all the kinks. Suggest chief use gloves when handling food. Cashier should have more experience, and training. We all have to learn, but need help at first. Menu is hard to understand. Be more attentive to customers to help with menu. otherwise a great addition to State St. I will try again, as the food is great.

wonderful new addition to state st
Reviewer: Nancy
from Santa Barbara, CA
What a beautiful, clean, bright, organic space...love the tiling and soft natural colors. Our lunch was delicious - had the soup and 1/2 panini. Broccoli soup was fantastic, the roasted veggie panini with pesto delicious. I liked the serving size - healthy (ie not huge) but the food is very fairly priced, rich and filling. My husbands tortilla soup seemed to have cream added - it was also delicious but a lower cal version would be nice. Before we ordered, we asked the cashier what the "onion fries" were, and she handed us a sample of very thin onion rings - fantastic! We had to order some. I look forward to returning soon. As for the previous reviewer saying that the place is locally owned - I prefer to "think globally" - and value ALL people - if the restaurant owner does a good job, I will patronize the place. Why does being from SB even matter?

They're Working On It
Reviewer: Rob
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food is great, never had a problem there. They are new and you guys out there just have to be patient while they figure out the kinks. I've heard some rumblings about slow service and the wrong order getting delivered, and have any of you that have experienced this not had the problem corrected and always with a smile?
This is a Santa Barbara local owner, and we should be patient as always with new establishments. In the end the food is great, the price is right, so what if you have to wait an extra 5-10 minutes, the food is worth it. Plus, the place looks 100X better than when Fatburger was in there.

Great lunch spot!
Reviewer: Joe
from Santa Barbara, CA
Had the tri-tip sandwich w/ ceasar salad and was very good! Service was nice and friendly. Tri-tip sandwich had great flavor and the bread was perfect.

Not so much as a "Hello"
Reviewer: Justine
from Santa Barbara, CA
I went into CC Sunday around noon. I'd read about it on this site, was curious and like to support local restaurants. Once in the door, I stopped to look up at the menu, high on the wall behind the counter. No one else was waiting ahead of me and the place was mostly empty. A few employees were behind the counter, making food, talking to each other jovially. The man right in front of me was wearing a chef's hat and garb. I stood there, feeling increasingly awkward as not one of them made a move to greet me, not so much as a "Hi--be with you in a minute." After a few long minutes of being ignored, I turned around and walked out. It seems to me that a new restaurant would do well to be welcoming of customers and make a good first impression. They didn't. I don't feel inclined to return unless I start to hear some really good buzz from trusted sources.

Waited 20 Minutes for the Wrong Sandwich
Reviewer: Allezan
from Santa Barbara, CA
Out of curiosity, I tried California Crisp for lunch. I went at 3:00, well after the lunch rush. I ordered their tri-tip sandwich, one of their signature dishes, with a side salad. After waiting over 15 minutes, and seeing two other customers who had ordered after me be served, a server told me it would be just another minute for my roast beef sandwich. I told him I had ordered tri-tip, and he said "Oh yeah, right." This did not inspire confidence, but I thought maybe it was an honest mistake. Then me said my order was being held up by the fries. The only thing is, I didn't order fries, I ordered a salad with balsamic. I told him that and he said "Oh, you ordered pasta primavera?" I corrected him, again, and he blamed it on the music being too loud. If the music is so loud they can't hear their customers, they should turn it down. They didn't. After a total of 20 minutes I finally got my order. One look confirmed it was roast beef, not tri-tip. But, I didn't have another 20 minutes to spare, so I didn't ask them to correct it. Unlike the other customers, I was not offered an appology for the wait time. Fortunately, the food was tasty, even though it wasn't what I ordered. I will return if and when they get their service up to par with their food.

Amazing food, clean and bright location, friendly service
Reviewer: Meghan
from Santa Barbara, CA
My sister and I just went to California Crisp for lunch and I was so impressed with our experience that I came home and wanted to write a review! The establishment itself is clean, bright, well decorated and inviting. You stand in line and watch the food being made and everything looks as delicious as it tastes! The portions are large without being huge and the food is fresh and well seasoned. I had the margarita pizza with a side salad which came out to under 10 dollars. My sister had the soup and side salad and her salad was bigger then mine! The chicken on her salad was fresh and delicious. I am making this place a regular for my lunches, it was wonderful. I gave the service 4 stars instead of 5 because it was a little slow, but that is to be expected with a new place. Their friendliness made up for it. :)